A theorist, organist, and conductor, Jeff Ostrowski holds his B.M. in Music Theory from the University of Kansas (2004), and did graduate work in Musicology. He serves as choirmaster for the new FSSP parish in Los Angeles, where he resides with his wife and children.

“In the 17th century came the crushing blow which destroyed the beauty of all Breviary hymns. Pope Urban VIII (d. 1644) was a Humanist. In a fatal moment he saw that the hymns do not all conform to the rules of classical prosody.”
— Fr. Adrian Fortescue (d. 1923)

HEN PERMISSION was first granted in 1969 to replace 1 the assigned texts for Entrance, Offertory, and Communion, music directors were excited. However, 40+ years later, this “freedom” has morphed into a type of “burden,” leading many musicians to return again to the Church’s official prayers.

Before going further, please examine the Entrance Chant for the 1st Sunday of Lent:

Below, I’ve provided ONLYTHIS CHANT for ease of comparison. You might want to first listen to the Latin version, so you can see how closely each composer imitated it. You can also read an article with suggestions on setting the Graduale in English.

2014 •PROPER OF THE MASS FOR SUNDAYS AND SOLEMNITIES (1,200 pages)

Fr. Samuel Weber’s masterpiece will be released by Ignatius Press before the end of 2014. Practice recordings, organ accompaniments, and a cantor book will follow. Multiple versions for each chant are provided. (more info)

Remember! These recordings were made by a soloist,but the pieces should be sung by a Schola of singers.

ORECOLLECTIONS COULD easily be added to this list. 2 Some might ask, “What’s the point of all these Propers in English: why not Latin?” The reality is, most Masses in the United States are offered completely in the vernacular—something Vatican II never envisioned. In such cases, Latin Propers can sound aesthetically weird.

You probably noticed the different approaches 3 chosen by the composers above. For this reason, I recommend the following as your starting point:

It’s fully complete, includes the Latin & English versions, and has been approved by the USCCB. Because the Jogues uses the “sung” versions of the antiphons, there’s no difficulty if parishes occasionally “mix in” the authentic Latin pieces, like the Communion antiphons from the Graduale Romanum.

HE CHANTS FOUND in the Roman Gradual are incredibly ancient, going back more than 1,500 years. The following image is from 1390AD, but the same piece could easily be shown from 1100AD or 850AD. Can you find the chant we’ve been talking about throughout this article? Remember, it’s called Invocabit Me, and here’s a hint: the initial letter “I” is humongous!

Roosevelt was President while paralyzed. Churchill gave speeches but couldn’t pronounce “S” correctly. Surely, then, we can begin to implement Mass Propers with these 11 collections!

NOTESFROMTHIS ARTICLE:

1 Permission to substitute “another liturgical chant” (alius cantus congruus) went far beyond §32 of Musicam Sacram (1967) and surprised many liturgists. This may explain why Bugnini concealed the GIRM from all other curial offices until it had already been approved.

The Latin word cantus should be translated as “chant.” While cantus can sometimes denote other musical genres (e.g. songs), Latin has more specific words for such items: hymnus, carmen, cantilena, and so on. Because Latin is 3,000 years old, it’s necessary to understand context. The context here clearly points to “chant.” Moreover, the GIRM uses specific terms like hymnus in other places. However, hymns and songs have replaced the assigned texts by means of the “alius cantus” option since the 1970s, and priests ought to be sensitive to this fact.

2 Andrew Motyka set English translations for all the Graduale Communion antiphons here. Richard Rice set the Propers using simple harmonies in his Simple Choral Gradual. His version of the above chant is here. A similar collection of choral Propers was created by Healey Willan in 1957. His collection is worth purchasing, and his Alleluia settings are noteworthy. Willan’s version of the above chant is here. In 2005, Christoph Tietze created a collection of metrical Entrance chants to allow congregations to join in. Tietze’s version of the above chant is here. However, as we’ve discussed, attempting to “fit” the Propers into metrical hymn tunes usually yields inadequate results. The Propers have been set in Latin thousands of times, and a surprising number of these collections are available online. I plan to create a webpage enumerating them at a future date.

3 Some collections abbreviate the antiphons. Some omit the psalm verses, while others take them from Versus Psalmorum et Canticorum (Solesmes), and still others follow the recommendations in the Graduale Romanum. Some take the “spoken” chants in the Missal as their model, while others use the “sung” propers from the postconciliar Gradual. Various translations are used, since there is no official translation of the Gradual. Sometimes, the editors claim their translations come from the Third Edition of the Roman Missal, but this is misleading, since the Missal antiphons don’t match the sung versions, and entire sections were omitted from the Roman Missal (e.g. the Offertory antiphons).

Priests have expressed concern about throwing the Word of God into the garbage every few months. The Isaac Jogues Illuminated Missal contains the complete Sunday readings for Years ABC, complete Gradual texts, and magnificent page layouts.

Watershed assisted the Birmingham Oratory with media work leading up to the Papal visit and Beatification of John Henry Cardinal Newman. Our documentary shorts provide online tours of the Oratory, including the Cardinal’s Room and Library as well as the parish church and its chapels.

St. Jennings was executed for being a Catholic priest. Seized whilst in the act of saying Mass in the house of St. Swithun Wells, he was hanged, drawn and quartered outside the same house. His execution was particularly bloody. St. Swithun Wells was hanged immediately afterwards.

This new Gregorian Chant Mass (with optional organ accompaniment) uses the new ICEL translation of the Roman Missal. We provide free practice videos, vocalist scores in modern and Gregorian notation, congregational booklets, and much more!

Kevin Allen's brilliant new SATB collection of twelve (12) Sacred Motets that can be used all throughout the Liturgical year. 144 Practice videos by Matthew J. Curtis. Optional Psalm tones written out for each piece, in Latin & English.

Here is a newly-composed Gregorian Chant GLORIA in honor of Saint Edmund Arrowsmith (†1628). Please feel free to download the PDF organist scores, PDF vocalist scores (in both Modern and Gregorian notation). This setting uses the new ICEL translation of the Roman Missal.

A 70-page collection of polyphonic Motets that can be sung by the average parish choir! Although the pieces were designed for SSA or TTB choirs, they also work well for mixed choirs. Matthew has also recorded 56 free practice videos to help your choir members learn these beautiful pieces.

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to people of good will. We praise you, we bless you, we adore you, we glorify you, we give you thanks for your great glory, Lord God, heavenly King, O God, almighty Father . . .

If you have an SATB choir that would love a brand new collection of dignified, beautiful, not-too-difficult motets, you need to check out Kevin Allen's "Cantiones Sacrae Simplices." Vocal phenomenon Matthew J. Curtis has also recorded more than 144 practice videos which carefully instruct singers who do not read music well. All 144 training videos are free!

Watershed assisted the Birmingham Oratory with media work leading up to the Papal visit and Beatification of John Henry Cardinal Newman. Our documentary shorts provide online tours of the Oratory, including the Cardinal’s Room and Library as well as the parish church and its chapels.

Distinguished composer Kevin Allen has set twelve Eucharistic Motets for three voices. Although the pieces were designed for SSA or TTB choirs, they also work well for mixed choirs, and a special transposition table has been included for the ease of the choirmaster. Choirmasters and singers will appreciate the fact that these pieces are not difficult to sing.

An hour-long documentary on Sacred Music. Watershed's cameras take you inside the 19th annual Sacred Music Colloquium, sponsored by the Church Music Association of America. The DVD includes a 45-minute, never-before-seen interview with Dr. William Mahrt, CMAA President & Stanford Professor.

The Rt. Rev'd Dom Hervé Courau, Abbat of Notre Dame de Triors, has authorised Watershed to post the Community's Gregorian chant recordings on our sites. For this gracious permission, sincere thanks to Father Abbat, also in the name of all those chanters who will profit from studying these beautiful sung prayers of the Church.

John Henry Newman was born in London (2/21/1801) and died in Birmingham (8/11/1890). As Vicar of St Mary’s Oxford he exerted a profound spiritual influence on the Church of England. Through his extensive published writings and private correspondence he created a greater understanding of the Catholic Church.

This is part of our ongoing Liturgical work, and we are grateful to the many guest composers who generously donate their scores. In addition, we offer free resources for all the other parts of the Mass, and currently provide more than 6,000 free Liturgical scores.

Kevin Allen's world-famous SATB "Tantum Ergo" is now in print. This piece has been enjoyed by many thousands of people, and is featured as the opening piece on "Sacred, Beautiful, & Universal: Colloquium XIX." Corpus Christi Watershed is proud to offer this Motet, along with fourteen other beautiful Motets, in "Cantiones Sacrae II."

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